Exercise can help pregnant women give up smoking, two new studies show.

    Researchers found a quarter of mums-to-be who exercised regularly were able to kick the habit before giving birth.

    Dr Michael Ussher who led the team from St George's University of London, said: "These results are very encouraging.

    "Regular exercise is ideal for any pregnant women who smoke as it's obviously safe and the benefits are enormous."

    Despite the warnings, around 17 per cent of women in the UK admit to smoking throughout pregnancy, often in secret because they fear disapproval.

    This can lead to miscarriage, lower birth weight and is linked to learning difficulties, problem behaviour and asthma in childhood.

    Nicotine patches are one way to help smokers give up, but there are worries they may harm the foetus.

    Experts say exercise is a healthy alternative that can reduce cravings experienced by smokers.

    The two pilot studies included women over 18 who smoked at least one cigarette a day and were 12 to 20 weeks into their pregnancy.

    In one trial, women exercised under supervision once a week for six weeks while in the other they worked out twice a week for the same length of time and then once weekly for three weeks.

    The exercise including walking, using a treadmill or exercise bike.

    In addition, all the women received counselling and help to stop smoking.

    The studies found a quarter of the 32 women gave up smoking before giving birth.

    The researchers are now conducting a larger trial of more than 850 women.

    兩項最新的研究表明：鍛煉可以幫助懷孕的女性戒煙。

    研究人員發現，有四分之一的準媽媽在生育之前通過規律性的鍛煉可以戒掉吸煙的毛病。

    邁克爾烏雪醫生帶領著來自倫敦圣喬志醫院的研究小組，他說：“這些結果很令人鼓舞。”

    “規律性的鍛煉對于任何吸煙的懷孕女性來說都是理想的，應為它明顯安全而且益處很大。”

    盡管收到警告，在英國還是有17%的女性承認在懷孕期間吸煙，大多數時候都是私下進行的，因為她們怕遭到反對。

    這會導致流產，低出生體重，并會導致孩子在幼年時的學習困難，問題行為和哮喘。

    尼古丁貼劑是幫助吸煙者戒煙的一種方法，但有人擔心它們會對胎兒有害。

    專家指出，鍛煉是一種很健康的替代方法，它能減少吸煙者對煙的渴望。

    這兩項初步研究調查了十八歲以上的女性，她們每天至少吸一根煙并已懷孕12到20周。

    在一個試驗中，一部分女性被監督每星期鍛煉一次，共鍛煉六個星期；其他人則每星期鍛煉兩次，堅持相同的時間然后改為每星期鍛煉一次，鍛煉三個星期。

    所進行的鍛煉包括步行，使用跑步機或健身車。

    另外，所有的女性都得到顧問和幫助，以使其停止吸煙。

    研究發現32名女性中有四分之一的人在生育之前戒煙了。

    研究人員目前正在進行一項更大的、超過850名女性參加的試驗。